Public Meeting to Discuss Wastewater Permit for Johnson Run Mine

Information Session and Hearing Scheduled February 15, 2018

Ohio EPA will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, to discuss a draft wastewater discharge permit for Johnson Run Mine, a new surface coal mine.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Burr Oak Lodge & Conference Center’s Bob-O-Link Room, 10660 Burr Oak Lodge Road, Glouster. During the information session, Ohio EPA representatives will present information about the draft permit and answer questions. During the hearing, which will immediately follow the information session, the public can submit comments for the record regarding the draft permit.

Johnson Run Mine is located at Section 18 and 24 of Trimble Township, Athens County. The permit applicant is Oxford Mining Company. If approved, the permit would allow the 299-acre strip and surface mine to discharge to Johnson Run at five locations. The discharge would come from sediment ponds which collect runoff from the strip mine area, spoil piles, topsoil piles, haul road and non-paved parking area.

The proposed project may result in a change from current water quality conditions, but does not authorize any violation of Ohio’s water quality standards that protect human health and the environment. Ohio EPA will consider technical, economic, social and environmental aspects of the project before deciding whether to issue or deny the permit.

Ohio EPA will accept written comments on the permit application through Feb. 22. Anyone may submit comments or request to be on the mailing list for information. To comment or receive information on the permit application, write to: Ohio EPA-DSW, Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049 or email epa.DSWComments@epa.ohio.gov.

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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.